Chapter 6 #2
“Alright, cool. I’ll hit you back if I need to know anything else.
” Dreaux disconnected the call before I could even say anything else.
My heart was in my toes, and I could barely focus.
I sat back down at my desk, but my thoughts were all over the place.
What would he think once he found out the truth?
Would he fire me, or would he think I was a bad mother?
While I knew I wasn’t his type from our previous conversation, there was a part of me that thought there might have been something between us.
All of that would be nothing more than a fantasy after he found out where I lived.
I hated people giving me sympathy. It did nothing to improve things.
I busied myself with the files I needed to scan into the computer.
Dreaux’s apartment complex was highly sought after, so there were dozens of applications coming in daily.
The phone rang constantly with people asking the same questions over and over, but I had no complaints.
The job was easy to do, and the benefits were better than any other job I had ever had.
When I found out how much we got paid an hour, I thought it was a joke.
Most jobs that paid thirty an hour were usually in the medical field.
My last job was only $11/hr, and we worked for a major supply company.
It also came with medical, vision, and dental coverage for Promise and me. I still couldn’t believe it had fallen into my lap the way it did, but I was grateful.
I must have gotten caught up in my work because I completely lost track of time, and when I looked up, Dreaux came barreling through the door with my little princess on his hip. Promise paid me no mind as she licked ice cream from the side of her hand where she held her cone.
“Hey, Tooka butt.” I reached my arms out to take her from Dreaux, but the two of them looked at me as if I were crazy.
“Well, fine then.” A part of me felt a little dejected, but it was more than likely all in my head.
“I brought you some food from Lucy’s. Baby girl said she wanted pizza, so we’re gonna pick up her food before I drop her off with my sisters.
” I remembered them from the baby shower.
In all the time I had been working for Dreaux, he never brought up the fact that we had met before.
A part of me wondered if he even recognized me, but it was almost impossible for anyone to forget something so embarrassing.
“Oh, okay. Well, thank you.” I retrieved the bag from him and then headed back over to my desk. The energy in the room was awkward, and it made me uncomfortable. Dreaux took a seat in the chair in front of my desk as he and Promise engaged in a full-blown conversation as if I weren’t in the room.
It amazed me how comfortable she seemed with him because she usually took a while to get comfortable with people. She must have sensed he was a safe person, and I prayed the two of us weren’t wrong.
“Did you hear me?”
My head shot up when I realized Dreaux had been talking to me.
“No. Sorry, I zoned out for a minute.”
“I asked if there was something wrong with the food. You haven’t opened it yet. I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I got a little bit of everything. The food there is good as hell.”
“No, no. There’s nothing wrong at all. I’ve got a lot on my mind.
” I opened one of the plates, and my stomach growled.
I prayed I was the only one who heard it, but when I heard Promise and Dreaux laughing, I realized I had failed the mission.
The aroma alone made my mouth water. On the first plate, there were baked turkey wings over yellow rice, mac and cheese, and collard greens with smoked turkey.
“Wow. This looks incredible. Although I’m not sure this is the kind of meal I should be eating on my lunch break. You might walk back in here and find me passed out in the next hour.” I joked, trying to decide what I wanted to eat first.
“You ain’t lying. I’ve been caught slipping a few times after eating one of their plates. They aren’t as good as Granny Lula, but they are a close second.”
“Is that another restaurant? I’ve never heard of it before.” I questioned while I scooped some mac and greens on my fork, mixed with a little piece of the turkey wing.
“Naw, she’s my best friend’s grandmother. She might as well be mine, too, because I’m always over there. She cooks every Sunday, and she always puts a plate up for my sisters and me on the days I can’t be there.”
I could tell he truly loved her from the adoration in his eyes.
I grew up as an only child, and I didn’t have much family either.
Whenever I asked about my father’s side of the family, my mother would change the subject or pick an argument with me.
I met my father a few times growing up, but then one day he stopped coming around.
By the time I was old enough to understand things fully, he had become a distant memory.
The only thing I knew was that he lived in Jonah Hills and his last name matched mine.
“She sounds like a sweet lady. My mother barely knew how to cook, so I had to teach myself. I always wondered what life would be like if I had grown up in a big family that ate dinner together. It sounds like a good time,” I expressed.
Dreaux’s eyes scanned over me as if he were looking for something, and I squirmed under his gaze.
“I can’t say I had that experience either.
Outside of Justice’s family, I didn’t have the typical family dynamic.
When my pops was alive, he ran the streets, so he wasn’t home much.
My sisters were always involved in sports and after-school activities, so we never ate dinner together.
We try to do it now, but our schedules don’t always align. ”
“I wanted to do things completely different with Promise, but it’s kind of hard without a family.”
“You mentioned before that you grew up here. What made you move back if you don’t have family here?”
I appreciated the fact that he seemed genuinely interested in my story. Although I didn’t like talking about my past, it was nice to have someone who wanted to listen.
“My mother and I moved when I was a little girl. She never told me why we were leaving or for how long. One day, I was going to school like normal, and the next, I was woken from my sleep and told we were moving. I cried for weeks because I loved it here. I may not have had family, but I had a lot of friends. Well, as much as a six-year-old could have.”
“After my mother passed away, I thought about coming back here to see if I could find my father’s family.
I went through her diaries to find clues, but it was almost as if she knew I would read them one day.
The only thing I know about him is that his last name was Graham, and the only reason I know that is that it’s the only thing I have of his. ”
Dreaux started to choke, and I immediately sprang into action to help him. I tried to grab Promise from his arms, but they both shooed me away. I couldn’t believe my child had turned against me for a stranger she had just met. I handed Dreaux a water bottle and waited for him to catch his bearings.
“Are you okay?”
“Umm, yeah. I didn’t know that was your last name. I guess I wouldn’t have, since Maliah handled all of your paperwork. Damn.”
I stared at him as I waited for him to explain what he was talking about.
“I don’t understand.”
“You said your mother never told you what your father’s name was?”
“No. I saw him a couple of times when I was younger, but she called him by some nickname. Stone maybe? I don’t know.” When I glanced up, Dreaux looked as if he had seen a ghost.
“What the hell is going on? You’re staring at me as if you know something I don’t. What is it?” My tone rose, and anger swept over me. I hated when people kept me in the dark, and after everything I had been through, I couldn’t take any more secrets.
“Do you remember anything about him? Any features or details you can think of?”
“Umm, he was tall. I remember him being the same color as me, with long locs pulled into a bun. He had a lot of tattoos on his arms and chest.” I tried my best to recall as much as I could.
When I tried to search him up, I had nothing to go off of other than his last name.
Without his first name, I had no way to know if I had the right person without a photo.
“Fuck,” he grumbled. My feelings were a little hurt by the way he was reacting, and I wished I had never said anything.
“Maybe we should drop the subject. I already have enough on my plate, so I’m not trying to open a can of worms right now.”
“I apologize. I promise, it’s not you. I have a lot going on, and it seems like there aren’t enough hours in the day to address them all.
I’m gonna get out of here so I can feed baby girl and drop her off.
If you need me, call me. I need to talk to you about something after you get off.
” Whenever Dreaux spoke, there was a sense of dominance that couldn’t be denied.
He never asked for anything. Instead, he made his requests known and expected people to follow them.
“Okay. What’s the number for the daycare?”
“What do you need it for?” He shot back with a smirk on his face.
“Stop playing with me.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t let that one go. I’ll send you all of her information once I get baby girl settled.”
“Okay.” Dreaux kept his eyes on me for a while longer, but I looked away.
My stomach was in knots because I wasn’t sure what he needed to talk to me about. I assumed it was about my living arrangements, and it made me anxious. Judgement was the last thing I needed because I had been trying my hardest to get back on my feet.
“You good?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I appreciate your help. I’m not sure how you got her to like you so fast. She usually has to warm up to people.” I pointed to my curly-haired diva, who had her head resting on his shoulder.
“What can I say? I’m a very likable guy.”
“Yeah, whatever. The jury is still out on that one.” I teased him.
Dreaux smiled widely, revealing a diamond grill on his bottom row.
Damn, the man was already a walking orgasm.
The jewelry covering his perfectly straight teeth was a bonus.
I tried not to drool over him for too long since he was my boss, but I would be lying if I said he wasn’t a beautiful work of art.
“I’ll win you over eventually. I always do. Tell your momma goodbye.”
“Bye, momma!” Promise blew me a kiss, then clung onto Dreaux’s arm as he walked out of the building. My mind was reeling from the events of the day, and I had a feeling that this would only be the beginning.